Hey Squeak, Welcome to the club. There are a lot of folks that play professionally that cannot read a note. I personally only play what the voices in my head tell me to play. Began at age 7 playing piano, picked up a guitar at age 12 and played my first paying gig at age 17 while I was a kid in the U.S. Navy and seeing the world from the decks of a Heavy Cruiser. Didn't tough a keyboard until about 15 years ago, but I've updated many times since then.

I, like you, tried to read music for a lot of years, took a few lessons, but when it came to reading from the sheets and playing at the same time, there was a mental block that I couldn't overcome. Everytime I looked at the song title, the music popped into my head and the darned fingers just automatically went to the keys that seemed right.

Don't let the ability to not read music bother you--it really doesn't matter to your audiences unless they're a bunch of folks from Peabody Institute that would pick apart anyone that plays--including Bethoven.

As for buying the keyboard, sell that damned Lincoln, buy a 2000, play lots of high paying gigs, then upgrade to a Rolls, drive it to the law office and hand them your resignation. Now that's poetic justice!

Gary

Squeak,
I love the sound of the piano, also like organs, guitars, and of course flute. The Sweet Tenor Sax is also very nice on the 550.
Send me some blues too, if you like.
Have you heard an instrumental called Pipeline by the Chantays? The cool!electric voice sounds like the guitar on Pipeline.
Starkeeper

Travelin'easy,
I don't think, not being able to play sheet music, bothers squeak at all. I looked at the music played at our church, and all there is on the sheets are words with chord names above them.
Starkeeper

I agree too, but to play a good piano, nothing beats weighted keys. Well and since only scott can afford a real baby grand , gosh i wish i could.
But my ultimate goal is to add a good stage piano to my gear, 88 keys weighted with some real good piano samples.
BTW, I love the semi-weighted feel of my G1000 keyboard, I used to have a D50, and since then i am hooked to these keys

It all depends on what you bought your board for and like anything else you can't generalise stuff like key feel / response.

That being said Bear with me whilst I generalise

I think I read somewhere (and it is certainly true in my case) that the most played 'voice' on any arranger, and by the majority of users, is the piano. Look at all the interest there was not long ago in comparing the piano sounds of many major boards.

I will conceed that if you bought your board as a sound module and sequencer then the keys will be of little interest to you anyway. But to take the argument to it's logical conclusion then to get the absolute best and authentic drum sound you need to buy something with a skin on it and hit it with a stick. To get the absolute best and authentic sax you need to buy a bendy pipe and blow in it. Likewise to get the best piano sound you need to buy an acoustic piano (and bang on it??). Electronic sampled sounds are going to be second best every time.

We expect our boards to be everything to everyone and sound like we paid tens of thousands of pounds for a studio full of instruments! Aint gonna happen really is it?

Having said all that ....in my own personal experience I have never played a keyboard that has inspired me to play (by sheer keyfeel alone) as much as the 9000pro. I know I am bound to say that as I only just bought it but it is true. The key feel is fantastic in my opinion.

Maybe my sax solo's dont fool no-one into looking over their shoulder to see where the guy with the bendy pipe is when I play. To be honest they never did anyway! I think everyone guessed it was me all along

Best wishes to all
Tony W

I agree with all the arguments for and against weighted keyboard actions that have been presented. I keep a Fatar SL-990 weighted keyboard controller for playing at home ( good action and cheap for $399 ) that I plug other keyboards into. Weighted keys are much better for accurate timing. But when I go to band rehearsal I don't bother with the extra weight and just take my SY-77 or PSR-550 instead.

As a trained classical pianist I sometimes hanker after hammer-action weighted keyboards, but only when trying to play classical piano. The rest of the time the (notoriously) squelchy PSR2k keys do the job adequately well.

Also IMHO a well sorted hammer action is usually the fastest(!) because you use the keyboards natural rebound action in your favour. Try playing a fast trill on a crud keyboard then do it on something classy. No contest!

Actually, I rather have 76 or 88 keys than a weighted keyboard. I find 61 keys very restrictive especially for an arranger keyboard where you will definitely split the keyboard.

AL G

Lot's of good points here. My own experiences have led me to prefer something in between, or better yet a couple of boards with different feel. My earliest setup was a Hohner Clavinet ( tight weighted action ) and an old Silvertone organ ( looser than anything ever made by Yamaha ) . My first real live setup ( circa 1983 or so ) was the Yamaha CP 25 Electric piano and the Korg Poly six synth. You couldn't get a bigger contrast in key feel between those two. I loved the board, but the CP25 keys seemed to fight me to move, while the Polysix action seemed to be about what the PA80's is. I played them stacked ( you could fit a keyboard, several drinks, a full course meal, and a few other things on top of that CP 25 ), and at times I did left hand bass on the CP and right hand rythyms and leads on the Poly6.

Today my main setup is the Motif and the PA80. The Motif has semi weighted action that still feels rather light compared to a real piano or to the CP25. The PA80's keys feel lighter than the Motif but are noticably tighter than the ones on the PSR2000. I totally agree with lighter key feel for emulating lead instruments like sax or guitar. The good news for me is that I prefer those particular sounds on the PA80 vs the Motif, although both have a good enough key feel for me to work those sounds. The Mo is often my choice for acoustic / electric pianos, drums, bass, and synth sounds, and the action works just great for all of that too. The bottom line is that I like the action on both and can easily go back and forth ( very easily compared to my 1983 setup ). On the other hand, the PSR 740 / 2000 were ok when I had them, but the key feel was so spongy that I had to adjust my playing to them to the point that I never really got totally comfortable with it, especially for piano or percussive instruments. Even though the PA80 has a light touch, there is more resistance and the keys seem to spring back a little better, which actually helps me to better emulate the solo's that I want to play.

AJ

[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 01-08-2003).]

I got my PSR for the organs and the styles. I can't play piano music on it and don't really want to. I play piano music on the piano. If I didn't have a grand piano I would probably get a CVP of some sort. That doesn't answer the question, it just says what others are saying - horses for courses and it's your own personal choice. There aren't any rules in this game.

Bryan